Candance
by dragongirlj
Summary: “When you survive on the candance of their heart, that’s when you know you are in love” Strain appears Skipper and Marlene’s near one-year long relationship. Meanwhile, Dr. Blowhole, a serial killer, resurfaces with a deadly plan.
1. Confusion

Any children that may be reading this please choose another story. This sequel is somewhat inspired by Law and Order: SVU. So please, if you cannot handle that kind of stuff, look away.

This is a sequel of Trustworthy, if you haven't read it, I highly suggest it…You can skip the first two chapters to it if you want to. That's really just character placement and setting. However, I would suggest doing so.

As for the title, CANDANCE, it means beat like a heartbeat. It was absolutely perfect for this story.

Now TO THAT THINGAMAJIG!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marlene glanced at the clock for what had to be the third time that day. Skipper was supposed to be back about three hours ago, which was two hours and fifty-seven minutes too long. They were supposed to be on a simple drug bust, or at least that's what Skipper told her. She glanced at the clock again and opened the door to their apartment. Doris was waiting on the couch in there, staring at the clock on her cellphone as well.

"You'd think they would call us, right?" she asked, not looking up from the phone. Marlene nodded and slid into Skipper's chair. She put her hands to her forehead and groaned as another scenario ran past her head. Luckily, though, she had checked to see if his bulletproof vest was left behind and it wasn't, so that thought cleared her current worry. She opened his top drawer, noting that his favorite gun had been taken but the others were still there, locked and loaded. She glanced at the clock once more when Doris's phone rang. It was at her ear within one second. The voice coming through could easily be distinguished as Kowalski as he started talking about the bust. Marlene rushed to Doris's side and the blonde held it between them as they listened.

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"Someone had better be for you guys to be three hours late without a single call. Both of us were worried sick! Marlene here had to check the weapons panel about thirteen times, making sure you brought enough guns. I called Officer X about ten times just to try to get a hold of you guys!"

There was a silence on the other end and a muffling sound of someone putting their hand on the phone. Kowalski yelled something on the other end and he came back on, "I'm putting Skipper on, okay. I'm really sorry we worried you girls, it's just it was really dangerous."

The phone passed and Skipper talked through the other end, making the tight feeling in Marlene's chest disappear, "Hey, everything went fine. The bust took longer than we thought and we couldn't call because it could compromise the operation. We'll be home soon and then you can tell me just how many times you went through our top-secret equipment…Marlene…"

"I was worried okay! Just please, hurry back."

"I'm driving."

"So, I should expect you back now?"

"Okay! This is my phone. You two can flirt when you get back, Skipper!" Doris yelled into the bottom of the phone, "Now get the heck back!" She closed the phone and rolled her eyes, "I really don't see what you see in Skipper. He's too bossy and rude."

Marlene smirked, "Well, what do you see in Kowalski?" The trick had worked and the girl's eyes glazed over as she started gushing about the genius. Marlene already knew this speech by heart so she walked back over to Skipper's desk, her hand resting on the first drawer. She already had most of the room memorized as the detectives intrigued her and Skipper never really talked about himself, unless it was some vague mentioning to Manfredi, Johnson, and his ex-wife, Lola. She sighed and opened the second drawer, nothing but files, and the same for the third drawer.

"Hey?" Doris finally snapped out of her speech and got up, "Are you allowed to mess with his stuff?"

"Maybe, I'm the girlfriend, remember?" Marlene looked up and grinned at Doris as she opened the fourth drawer, the very last one. "Plus I've memorized nearly every inch of this place and if I'm allowed into the weapon's panel, why not the boring file work?"

"And you couldn't have done this during the time we had no idea where they are?"

"I didn't think to." She shook her head and blinked as she reached for the very back of the last drawer. That little box wasn't there when she looked in here before, was it? She slid it out of the drawer and started to open it when the door to the room opened. She quickly put the box back, closed to the drawer and jumped to her feet when the team walked through the entrance.

"You know, I can never get used to Skipper's driving." Kowalski wobbled in and smiled at Doris, who ran up and tackled him into a hug. Marlene stepped around the desk and wrapped her arms around Skipper's chest, happy to just hear his heartbeat.

"We weren't gone that long, were we?"

"Three long hours, very long hours by the way." Skipper blinked and dropped his gun belt onto the bed before hugging the brunette back. He rested his head on hers and glanced to his team. Rico had left to go find Jazz, possibly another sign language class. Phil had tried to teach Rico but Jazz had slapped the man hard after Rico attempted to show what he learned.

Kowalski was currently describing the bust to Doris who had still refused to let go of the man's hand. Their one year anniversary had passed a couple of days ago and it still amazed him how the two still loved each other. Doris, he had thought, was an absent-minded genius while Kowalski had to analyze everything. Since the two have been together though, he had noticed subtle changes. Doris had become more focused and more observant while Kowalski didn't rely on his clipboard as much.

Private smiled to him and turned back to exit the apartment, the boy had finally hit a growth spurt, making him about 4 inches taller. The boy hadn't really changed much in his personality department, but he had grown in maturity, in fact, the boy was his confidant and Skipper usually bounced ideas off the boy for coming up for something for Marlene.

He turned his head back into Marlene's hair, extremely glad she still put up with him. Their one year anniversary was coming up and he was still kicking himself for forgetting it, making him not sure what to get the love of his life. He had to keep himself from slapping his forehead when Kowalski had started mentioning, really hinting, about the event. Of course, that man would remember everything that went on. Marlene, luckily, had no idea about this and he planned to keep it that way.

"I'm just really glad you're here." She murmured into his shoulder, breaking his thoughts but replacing them with extreme guilt. He knew well the worry that ran through her head, thanks to his paranoia, but at least he knew her job had nothing dangerous in it. He himself didn't even know if he would live through another job. He sighed and patted her back.

"I had no excuse for being unable to call."

"Yes you did, your position could be compromised, just like you said." Skipper bit his lip and shook his head slightly, that was just an excuse. He had just forgotten and it was still killing him.

"Yeah, exactly," He lifted her up and set her on his desk, ignoring the lie that hung over his head, "I promise I'll make it up to you." Her big smile hit him again and he tried to shoo the guilt away. He failed and right when he was about to admit it, the phone rang. Letting out a sigh of relief, he picked up the phone as Marlene hopped off the desk and walked to Doris, knowing what the office phone meant. Kowalski walked beside Skipper and listened in to a police officer's frantic voice. Skipper looked to Kowalski and set the phone on speaker.

"Repeat that last line."

"We found a young girl in an alleyway and she was, of course, dead. We found a mark on her waist. It's a brand of with a capital DR. Officer X told me to call you and tell you about it." The two men turned to each other, visibly surprised.

"So Dr. Blowhole is back, huh?"

Doris, the guy on the other end, and Marlene giggled, "Why that name?"

"Because he's a….." Skipper trailed off, looking at the two girls, "You two get out, we need to work."

Doris opened her mouth but Kowalski cut her off, "Trust us; you really don't want to hear about this guy. He doesn't even deserve a bullet to the head. That's a too quick and painless death for him." She looked to Marlene and nodded. They left quietly and once the door shut, Kowalski turned back to Skipper.

"We need to catch him this time." Skipper nodded and picked up his phone, "Get the others, we're going back to the police station."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"You know, I'm so excited!" Gloria twirled looking at herself in the mirror, an obvious glow radiating from her. She patted her stomach and turned to the two melancholy girls lying around her apartment.

Doris sighed, "Yeah, I'm excited for you. I really am, it's just, Kowalski just kicked us out, pretty much saying we couldn't handle hearing about this guy. Last year we survived kidnapping and captivity in a sewer! I'm pretty sure we can handle it!"

"I'm pretty sure they mean well but they have been working all the time, I know I shouldn't be upset, I mean, they're doing good, but still."

"No romance time?" Gloria patted Marlene's shoulder, "I understand, Melmen's a doctor so I barely see him."

"You guys are married though and Melman doesn't have a life-and-death job. Plus, you're having a baby, so it doesn't count."

Gloria sighed and patted the brunette's shoulder, "Just think, your one year anniversary is coming up in two days; I know Skipper won't forget it, just focus on that."

Marlene looked up and smiled, "Thanks, I needed that."

Doris sat up and held her hands up, "Hey, what about me?"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Skipper leaned against the wall while the rest of the team looked at the girl, everyone except Private; he had run off to throw up. Kowalski was on the verge too as he took photos to examine back at the apartment.

"So how do you guys know this serial killer?" The coroner glanced to the team, she happened to be Officer X's wife, Alice. She was weird and that is why Officer X liked her.

"He came to us one time, saying he found his girlfriend dead in her apartment, she had the same mark. We believed he was innocent until we found evidence pointing him to be the murderer. By then he was long gone."

"Well, do you know his habits?" She covered the body back up as Kowalski lowered his camera, "Apparently he's a serial rapist as well."

"That he is, he's extremely smart as he never uses a similar place twice, an apartment, a hotel, back room at a bar, a yard, and now an alleyway. He never leaves fingerprints, and only twice has left DNA."

"So how do we catch this guy?"

Kowalski looked back to Skipper, "I honestly have no idea."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Yes, this is my longest chapter yet, (2,251 words people!) I have yet to decide on an ending I want, all are similar in a few ways, but I will finish this! YES!

As for the rest of the chapters, I will work on them when I can, I can't promise extremly quick updates...though I will try.

CRITIQUE POR FAVOR!!!!!! I love reviews, if you don't review though, perfectly fine....kinda....no, not really. But I will understand!!!!


	2. Abandonment

HOLY CHEESE!!!!! I HAD TEN REVIEWS! THIS IS JUST SO AWESOME! DO YOU GUYS KNOW HOW AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE???? AWESOME ENOUGH FOR CAPS LOCK, THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING, MAN! EPIC, MAN, EPIC!

Now that I'm done with my little celebration of having double the reviews for one chapter than I had for a Trustworthy chapter, (DID I MENTION IT WAS TEN!!!!), I must think, was it because I had more than 1500 words, or was it because you guys are awesome? IT'S THE LATTER! YESNESS!

Now you probably want to hear the review replies (TEN!) instead of me celebrating (TEN!). So I'm getting straight to it. (DID I MENTION IT WAS TEN?)

peaches2217- Yes! Thank you for reading Trustworthy! I am so happy you reviewed and because you did, you get a cookie!!! Thin Mints, if you're wondering, I have a truckload of them.

Iota- Thank you! This chapter's even longer!

Twighlight's Desire- You were the only one that got that! Cookie for you! (Honestly, what could a serial killer be if they had the name Dr. Blowhole?)

Terra Young- Thank you! Teen Titans and Avatar rock! (Pun intended) and yes I do stalk my reviewer's profiles. :)

Forever'nAlways – Just for you, Romance in this here chapter! Just for you! Really, I did not plan to put romance in it until you reviewed! Pat yourself on the back! Do it now!

.Angel- Good, because it's inspired by Law and Order: SVU….Love your username by the way…It's awesome!

Mattie Scary – YES! EXACTLY!!!!!!! Elliot is my inspiration for Skipper in this story…and also Gibbs from NCIS but that may be biased….maybe. Many of Elliot moments are in this story… (Except the kids' part. Elliot has a heck of a lot of kids, don't you think?)

halfhuman007- Grins happily, yes! I love Moondance! You must update A very Special Day more! I can't churn out chapters fast like you anymore! I hate school, takes up all my writing time.

Soothesayer16- 0_0….You're the writer for Medical Emergency. I bow to you! And as for the crime show aspect…you'll find that I'm addicted to crime shows. It's like pistachios! (If you get that, you will be my friend; if not…you're still my friend for reviewing!)

Gewlicious- NO! Stay away from vortexes! Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play around black holes???? I love Doris's character, if I make another story with her in it, she will be the exact same. As for Alice and X…I'm trying not imagine what the children would look like. The Alice in my head isn't as creepy as the Alice on the show and mine works in autopsy!

This chapter is brought to you by the Letter T and S as in **To The Story!**

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Skipper had been staring down the evidence for about two hours now, just begging them to reveal something. He was back at the apartment, trying to be as quiet as he could to avoid waking up Private. Kowalski and Rico were the only ones awake and they were doing the same thing he was. The evidence had to be combed through, NYPD police happened to be incompetent when it comes to that.

Marlene opened the door and glanced around to the pacing detectives, "Okay, either you have a very big case, or Kowalski had you guys do a Sudoku puzzle."

"First one, last one's stupid." Skipper didn't look up from his work even for a second, "We're really busy in here, Marlene, so maybe another time."

"Skipper?"

"Just get out." She looked to Kowalski who frowned and nodded, Rico doing the same. She looked between the three and sighed dejectedly. She closed the door behind her and disappeared into her apartment.

"Skipper, you do know that…"

"Our anniversary is in two days? I can't forget with you reminding me all the time." He pulled the drawer out of his desk and held up a velvet box, making Kowalski show a shocked smile.

"You plan on…"

"This? Of course. We need to catch this guy first though." He stood up and opened the door, "Comb through the autopsy report again and if someone calls, get me immediately, even if it's a telemarketer." Kowalski saluted while Rico took a station by the phone, all while giving confused looks as Skipper shut the door.

Marlene had gotten changed for bed within the few minutes she had left the detective's apartment and had gotten into bed when light filled the room from the hallway outside. She glanced at the mirror across from her and saw Skipper slowly close the door.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." He walked over to her bedside and rubbed her shoulder.

"Of course I am, you've just been busy these past few days. I miss you."

Skipper sucked in a breath and sat down on the bed, "You know that I would come running, even for the littlest thing, for you. I'm extremely sorry that I've worried and abandoned you, especially with the event coming up." Even Ray Charles couldn't miss the beam that radiated off of Marlene's smile as the last words hit home. He felt his worries lift away and hugged her, "I promise that it'll be special, you just wait and see."

"Skipper, even if it's just snacks while watching a football game, I'll be happy." She snuggled down into Skipper's jacket, feeling much warmer and safe.

"Well, if that's all you want, I guess I could cancel that reservation at Red Lobster." Marlene pushed him back on the bed and laughed.

"Well, if you already have them." She put on a fake, thoughtful expression, "But I wonder what will happen after that."

"You'll have to wait and see." Skipper pushed himself up off the comforter and kissed her before crawling off the bed, "I have to figure out this case, but I promise once it's done, no more distractions."

"Speaking of which, what is the case?" Skipper froze and turned to Marlene. She was leaning forward, eager to hear about something that he couldn't tell her. He looked up to the ceiling, as if it might give answers, but as usual it didn't. He sighed and looked back down to her, who now wore a very confused expression.

"This man can't be explained without giving nightmares," Marlene opened her mouth to protest but Skipper held up a hand, "No, I know you're tough, it's just this man would give a hardened Marine nightmares."

Marlene looked up to the ceiling and blew her bangs away from her face, "He's really that bad?"

"He's a serial killer and rapist. That's enough information. You're too innocent to hear what he's done." He froze and looked back to Marlene who glared straight back, "I mean, as in, not a bad thing…yeah, that." He cursed himself while Marlene's glare turned stronger. She got up from the bed and stormed off into the bathroom. He stood awkwardly in the room, wondering if he was supposed to leave or follow. He sighed and decided on the former, leaving to give Marlene some peace.

She looked up from the sink when she heard the click of her front door. She groaned and flushed the toilet before exiting from the bathroom. Trust Skipper to leave when she was just using the bathroom. She collapsed on her bed, refusing to let herself cry.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The sun rose two days later to find the entire team knocked out over documents. Doris and Jazz opened the door and smiled to each other.

"Hi ho, Hi ho, it's off to work we go!" Doris skipped over to Kowalski's as he struggled to wake up and kissed his forehead, "Remind Skipper that he needs to meet Marlene at six at Red Lobster."

"Will do." He yawned and hugged her around the waist, "have fun at work."

"You too. Jazzie, stop stealing Rico's weapons and let's go." Jazz looked up to the other blonde and made a face as she put a note into Rico's pocket. She patted his head and skipped over to Private as Doris stood over Skipper. The leader, in his sleep, felt a disturbance and woke up to see bright, blue eyes glaring at him. He leapt up out of his chair and entered a defensive stance before Doris could even roll her eyes.

"Really, is that necessary?" She sighed and handed him a note, "Marlene went to work early this morning. She's excited about today and I know you had better not blow it or I will kill you. Good day." Skipper glanced at the note and to the retreating blonde.

"I won't hurt her. It's the last thing I'll ever do."

Skipper definitely wasn't expecting it when both girls turned to glare at him, especially Jazz with Rico's knife. Doris scoffed, "Really? Because you've already done that. Marlene just likes you too much to see it. You really should see her cry. I've seen her do it multiple times, usually after you do something. You also know something, Marlene doesn't like to cry, so get that through your thick skull. Jazz, put the knife back." The mute girl turned back around and put the knife back into the still sleeping Rico. She turned and walked out beside Doris who slammed the door behind her.

Kowalski let out a low whistle, "I do not think Doris likes you much, Skipper."

"What'd I ever do to her?" Skipper waved his arms above his head and threw a book at Rico, instantly waking him up. "I haven't said anything to her or done anything to her…right?"

"That would be correct, though I do think all women are protective of their friends. I caught Jazz yesterday threatening some guy that looked at Gloria wrong. Doris is the same way."

"Have I really hurt Marlene that much?"

"Not that I know of, Skipper," Kowalski turned away to the paperwork as Skipper mused over his memories. He couldn't think of anything he did wrong but then again, females are extremely hard to please. He opened his desk drawer, pulled out the velvet box, and slid it into his pocket. He glanced to Private who was humming a song while pretending not to notice the box. Skipper raised an eyebrow and the boy scrambled to one of the stacks of paperwork, all while exhibiting a large smile. Skipper glanced at his cell phone and noticed the voice mail warning.

Pressing the button, Officer X's voice came on the other end, "Skipper, you guys need to get down here quick! We have another victim!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It was 4:30 when Marlene last looked at the clock, which was two seconds ago. She looked in the mirror for what had to be the tenth time that minute and reached up to mess with her hair.

"Touch it and die." Gloria threw a comb at her back and giggled, "Geez, you act like you should be nervous, it's your one-year anniversary! Butterflies shouldn't be that bad!"

"Exactly, so why are they here!" Marlene picked up the comb and started to comb her bangs.

"OY VEY WOMAN, STOP IT!" Gloria grabbed the comb from her hands and curled it back to the sides of her face, "You leave it alone and you should be fine." She snapped to Doris who was exploring the closet.

"I'm hurrying! It needs to be casual but also formal, it's hard, okay!"

"Get me a pretty shirt and slacks! It's not that hard!" Gloria grabbed clothes from the closet and threw it to the brunette, "Get them on, Jazz, you do the makeup, nothing pasty but pretty."

The little blonde saluted and dragged Marlene to the mirror, happily applying makeup to her face.

After thirty minutes, the little girl finished and spun Marlene around to face the other two who broke out into a chorus of wolf whistles. Marlene blushed and grabbed her bag.

"Can I go now?" The three other girls nodded happily and the brunette looked herself over in the mirror. She was barely recognizable as her hair was done up in a loose bun and the makeup Jazz had applied was plenty different than her usual way, bringing out the Asian in her eyes even more. Marlene felt a familiarity to the person and realized she looked like her mom.

She teared up and hugged each of the girls, "Thank you so much!"

"No prob!"

"Yeah, for a friend, we'll do anything. Meaning when it's Jazz's anniversary, we're dressing her up like a Barbie doll." Jazz's eyes widened at Gloria's statement and shook her head violently. Marlene laughed and hugged the little girl again before running out of the door. She made it down the stairs, and out on the street before she stopped running.

"I really hate butterflies." She breathed before noticing a small flower shop.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Antonio sighed as he leaned against the desk, breathing in the aroma of the flowers. He hated the business but he absolutely loved the products he was selling. Unfortunatly, the last customer he had pissed him off something terrible and he had to resort cussing in spainish.

"¡Odio esto! La gente debería callarse!" He trailed off as the doorbell rang and he groaned. He glanced to the door and stopped dead in his tracks. A woman dressed up like she had to be somewhere was looking around his shop with an extremely lost look on her face.

He slid over to her and patted her on the back, "looking for something?"

She smiled to him and sighed, "Thank you, I have no idea what I should be looking for. It's my anniversary and I want to get Skipper something."

"I get the girls that buy themselves flowers and guys that buy their girls flowers, never the other way around. So you got married about this time?"

The girl shook her head, "No, we started dating about this time."

Antonio raised an eyebrow and stepped back to look at the girl, "He hasn't proposed to you yet? I'm surprised! Estás caliente" The girl blinked, "It means you're hot." Grinning at the huge blush rising over the girl's face, Antonio pulled her into the back room, "I have the perfect thing for you." The girl hesitated for maybe a moment before following him into the back room. He smiled at her gasp when he took down a bunch of uncut white roses.

"Let me just fix them up for you…"

"No, they're perfect the way they are. Absolutely perfect." She squealed and grabbed one of the thorny roses, "They remind me a lot of him."

"That's always good. You know, white roses promote marriage. Maybe they'll bring you luck." She blushed and started to reach for her pocket when he held up a hand, "No money, I don't get nice customers often, especially as charming as you, just have me be the florist at your wedding and we'll call it even."

"Absolutely, thank you so much!" He wrapped the flowers in a paper and she skipped on out of the store. He followed her, laughing, but he stopped cold as he watched a taxi pull up beside her. A man with short brown hair timidly stepped out of the car and tapped her on the back. Antonio watched in fascination as the man talked easily to the girl, as if he knew her. Judging by the look on the girl's face, it wasn't mutual. The man opened the back door of the car and the girl flashed a smile to him before looking in the car. She dropped her flowers and Antonio heard her shriek even through the glass of the windows. He took off running after her as the man pushed her in the back of the car and drove off. Antonio grabbed his cellphone and frantically dialed.

"911! I'm reporting a kidnapping!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Doris brushed her hair back as she entered the police station's office. She glimpsed her target studying some papers. She set the food bag down on a filing cabinet close to him, approached him from the back and wrapped her hands around his eyes.

"Hmmm, if this is a guess who game, I would say possibly Doris…or Private if he was really bored."

Doris giggled and raised her pitch to mimic an English accent, "Ello Govna, care for a spot of tea?"

Kowalski laughed and stood up out of his chair, wrapping his arms around her in a hug, "Judging by the fact that Private doesn't sound that much like a girl, I guess it's the former."

"Yeah, speaking of which, why does Private talk like he's British?"

"He was hooked on Mary Poppins when he was younger." Kowalski grinned and grabbed the food bag off the cabinet behind her, "And this would be?"

"Long John Silvers, your favorite." Doris reached up and kissed him, "Don't think for a second I don't know what you usually order." He turned back to the bag and started digging around the contents while Doris glanced around the office. The entire team was there, except the one guy she was looking for. That made her very happy. She turned back to her boyfriend and laughed as he spread out the food in front of him, all while wearing a goofy grin on his face. She grabbed a chair and dragged it up to the desk, "What happened today?"

"We got another victim this morning in a tree at the park and then we got a cryptic note about 5:30 at a JCPenney dressing room."

"What was the note?"

"She's next was written on the mirror with blood and then it had a whole bunch of broken flowers strewn all over the floor. We haven't figured it out yet."

"Ahh, scary." Doris glanced around the room and to the clock. The time was 7:30, "So when did Skipper leave?" Kowalski tilted his head and stared at her with a confused look, making Doris's heart fall, "Marlene? Anniversary?" Her heart plummeted out of her body when Kowalski's eyes grew about three times their normal size and he slammed the chair back while rushing to the elevator. She growled and rushed after him, barely getting past the doors. She held out a hand to Kowalski and hissed, "Give me your gun."

"Doris."

"I'm serious. I'll kill him. I will, don't doubt me. I will kill him." Kowalski grimaced but refused to give her his gun as the doors opened into the autopsy room. Doris settled for the stapler and stormed to Skipper, who was currently focused on the dead body before him.

"Skipper!" Kowalski called out, making the leader turn in time to dodge a well-aimed throw by the blonde.

Skipper looked above another autopsy table just to have a book sail across the room at him, "Kowalski! Control her!"

"Sorry sir, but right now, you deserve it."

"What! What'd I do to deserve a stapler thrown at me!" He dodged another flying book.

"YOU TELL ME!" She screamed, noting the heavy looking computer behind her. Alice ducked under the flying arsenal of objects and made her way to the pissed off woman.

"What'd he do?"

Doris stopped throwing stuff long enough to point to a digital clock on the wall, "It's 7:30. He had a very important event going on at 6:00, meaning, his anniversary!"

Cussing profoundly, Skipper jumped up from behind his bunker and took off for the elevator, pressing buttons on his phone while doing the same on the elevator, "This is bad, this is bad, this is very, very bad!" Pressing the phone up to his ear, he listened as the phone rang three times before the person on the other end picked up, "Marlene! I am so, so sorry! I'll be there in three minutes, you know what, make that three seconds!"

The other person just hung up. Groaning, Skipper took off to his car, speeding on down the road while attempting to contact her again. Within a few minutes, he spun into Red Lobster's parking lot and bust into the waiting area.

"Skipper?"

The waiter raised an eyebrow and grabbed a menu, "Your reservation was more than an hour ago, but a girl is here." The waiter led him to the table where a girl with long brown hair and a long sleeved dress, which was odd because it was summer, was sitting.

"Marlene, I am so sorry. I really am." He set his hand on her back and caught a glimpse of the woman's face. He gasped and stepped backwards as Rhonda slowly stood from her chair and grinned at him.

"You're too late."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

¡Odio esto! La gente debería callarse!- I hate it! People should just shut up

Antonio is awesome, he will probably show up for the last time in the next chapter and that'll be it for him.

I hate Rhonda but she's necessary for the rest of this story.

3 Thousand something words! WOOT!!!!

Review por favor!!! (I love you guys!) (And if you can think of a last name for Skipper, it would be greatly appreciated...so far I have Bird.)


	3. No One's There

Forever'nAlways- NO! YOU'RE AWESOME FOR PATTING YOURSELF ON THE BACK! CAPS LOCK IS AWESOME DON'T YOU THINK? Rhonda sucks. I hate her. No, Skipper was not trying to say that. Infer what you like though! RAMBLING IS AWESOME PERSONIFIED!

Twighlight's Desire- You happen to be the only one that likes crazy Doris though, well, besides me!

Soothesayer16- I like plot twists. They make it much more interesting!

Marelove- No, not at all! It's not corny!

peaches2217- Yep! Now, let me update.

Iota- She's going to be okay!......Maybe.

Mattie Scary- Welcome!

Gewlicious- Antonio is an original character. Pun was intended.

halfhuman123- Update! Please! (Reviewing in review reply is awesome, don't you agree)

Skipper's last names you guys came up with, (Absolutely no one liked Bird): Penguin, Skipper (Skipper Skipper XD) Pinguis, Pingouin, Davis Anderson, Hardass, and Logan.

I have no idea! You people came up with so many good ideas! (I like Logan and Davis though, They're normalish.)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

_She had just walked out of the flower shop when a man stepped out of a taxi beside her. He seemed to be a nice, timid man as a first impression. He flashed a police badge and a smile before speaking._

_"I have a message from Skipper; he needs you at the police station right away. His phone broke down and he can't get it to working." The man patted her back, "So it's your anniversary? Skipper was going on about it at HQ. Odd for him, but that must mean he really loves you."_

_This, of course, made her heart flutter as the man opened the taxi door for her. She flashed a smile to him but it fell when she noticed the other passenger in the taxi. Rhonda sneered as she held up a piece of paper. It was a wanted poster, one with the man's face on it with the title Dr. Blowhole under it. She dropped the roses and shrieked as Rhonda pulled her in and the man pushed her. The door slammed shut and Rhonda quickly gagged her with a cloth._

_Before long, they turned into an alleyway, where a van with a ramp leading into the back was waiting. Rhonda dragged her out and strapped her to a wheelchair while Dr. Blowhole attached a necklace to her neck and metal bracelets to her wrists. Rhonda saluted the man before driving away in the taxi while the man loaded her in the car._

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marlene hissed as the man dragged her into the airport. He waved to a passing person, charming them with his smile while keeping a tight grip around the handle to the wheelchair he had her strapped into. She would've have already attracted attention if it wasn't for the fact that she found out that the necklace was a disguised shock collar. She attempted to lift her arms again and barely got them an inch before tiring from the magnetic bracelets attached to her wrists. She glared up at the man and attempted to scream at him again, once more gaining an electrical current to her throat. She convulsed and collapsed back into the chair in exhaustion.

"Oh my! Is she okay?" A woman passed by, setting a hand on Marlene's arm while looking up at the man.

"Yes, she has small seizures every now and then, I have to keep her attached to the chair or else she'll hurt herself." He smiled at the woman, "She'll be fine, we're getting her to a doctor in San Diego, close to her parents. Isn't that right, Marley?" He smirked as Marlene attempted to protest, just sending another electrical current through her. The woman retracted her hand in horror and hurried off.

"Marley, you may want to hold off on that or you'll be dead before I even get the chance to kill you." He whispered, "Now, do you want to be a good girl or not?"

"No." Her pant came out hoarse and raw. She glared hard at the man, trying to bring some fact into the saying 'looks could kill'. He just laughed at her and kissed her cheek, sending revulsion chills down her spine and back up through her throat, "Don't make me throw up." She hissed to avoid sending off the shock collar.

"Do it, more people will believe you're just sick. You know, Skipper will eventually find you, most likely not alive, but he will." The horrified expression on her face was worth giving away his plans.

"He'll kill you."

Dr. Blowhole grinned, "I doubt it. Skippy can't decipher clues very well, even though he's the only law enforcement that can actually take me on in a fight. Though I will give you the fact that now since I have you, he might hurry up a little. Add that and the fact I'm only going to kill you on the fifth day instead of the second, he might actually save you from death." He glanced around; no one in the crowd was listening. He grinned once more and pushed her to the waiting room, explaining to the guards about Marlene's 'condition'.

"Now, we wait."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So therefore that's what happened." Rhonda smirked as Skipper slammed his fist down on the interrogation table, "Don't get so testy, the girl was way too trusting. Didn't you bother to show her his mug shot?"

Skipper growled, "I didn't think that she would be in danger. If you didn't reveal everything about her, he wouldn't have done it, this makes you an accessory to kidnapping, if she dies, and you'll go in with murder. He won't be able to post your bail after that."

"Well, I'm not planning on going to jail, I mean, I do have information on her whereabouts, that is, if a deal's on the table."

"No deal and you tell us, otherwise we'll find out what color your heart is on that autopsy table down there!" Skipper seethed, "if it means getting Marlene back, I will not hesitate to kill you."

On the other side of the glass, Officer X turned to the police chief, "This is why we must supervise whenever Skipper interrogates."

"I see." The director pressed the microphone button, "Skipper, come here." The leader growled as he stormed out of the interrogation room and into the viewing room, "I can not allow you to treat suspects like that. It's against the law."

"She's a little…."

"Hey, I'm ready to talk!" Rhonda called from inside the room after hiding a text message from her phone.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"What do you want me to do with this guy here? He saw Marlene being kidnapped and everything?" Office X asked over the phone.

Skipper grabbed three bags from the top of the closet, "The usual, get information and find if he knows any clues."

"Well good luck, soldier." The two hung up the phone and Skipper returned to packing.

Skipper loaded all his weapons into the suitcase where all necessities were being stored, Kowalski's clipboard, everything that couldn't fit in Rico's pockets, and Private's teddy bear. Skipper looked around the apartment as Kowalski hurried to gather up all information he could before stuffing them in a bag all their own. He opened all the drawers, getting all the guns he could carry and stuffing the rest into the suitcase before looking in the bottom drawer. He frowned as the momento box fell forward from the momentum of the drawer opening and grabbed a few files before grabbing the box itself.

In this little box were all his memories of his ex-wife, well, all but one. Skipper glanced over to Private who was currently debating between the toys on his bed and back to the box. Looking through the box, Skipper couldn't stir up any old feelings except for ones that had nothing to do with Lola. Sadness over her leaving had been replaced by his worry over Marlene. For the first time that day, he smiled and tossed the box in the fireplace.

"What was that?" Private asked, standing by his father's side holding a small stuffed penguin from the zoo.

"Nothing but fire fuel, come on. We need to get to San Diego before sundown.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Maylin Roberts sighed as she pushed the cart beside the car, "Hammy, stay near the cart." She called after the little redhead trying to escape from restraints attaching him to the bar. She lifted her cap and stuffed her red bangs into her hat again, for what had to be the sixteenth time. She glanced over at the airport that was right across the street and rolled her eyes at the loud, incoming planes.

Hammy looked up at his mother with puppy dog eyes as he pointed to the candy hiding in the bag, "Mommy, please?"

She laughed and handed it to him, "I'm spoiling you." She looked up again at the airport doors and stared as four men walked out, all wearing black jackets. The tallest pointed to the bus stop near to the parking lot of the supermarket. The second to smallest nodded and they crossed the busy street when the signal blinked. She rubbed her eyes and looked back at them as the one in front, the second to smallest, looked extremely familiar. She was concentrating so much that she didn't even notice Hammy's restraint come undone and his sprint to the street.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It was late evening when the team arrived in San Diego, Kowalski leaned against the bus stop pole near a supermarket as he produced a second clipboard, "According to Rhonda's interrogation, another clue will be with Marlene's parents. She said the name Aaron will ring a bell."

"Well, hopefully, we'll figure it out. First, we need to call Rodger to find them."

Skipper opened his phone, quickly finding Rodger's number in the contact list. He held it up to his ear and waited as he watched a boy play in the parking lot across the street. The little boy had a mop of red hair extending in complete disorder from his scalp. He glanced over to the nearest car where a woman wearing a white ball cap over what looked like a bald head was surprisingly staring at him. He blinked and slowly closed his phone. He nudged Private on the arm and pointed to the woman.

"Is she who I think she is?" Private followed his finger to the woman who was glancing back and forth between them. His jaw dropped and he rubbed his eyes.

"Marlene?"

Kowalski and Rico turned and followed the two's gazes to the woman, their jaws dropping as well. The woman froze and took a step back, reaching for her car handle for a quick escape. She reached over to the cart where a piece of fabric dangled over the bar. She broke eye contact and stared at the bar in horror. She silently lifted her eyes to the street where the silence was broken.

"Hamako!" She shrieked as she took off after the boy, her voice having a strong Japanese accent. Time seemed to slow as the boy neared the road, skipping after a fluttering leaf as Private dived for the boy. The boy turned to look at Private and a nearing car before screaming. The older boy grabbed the little one's waist, barely missing the car by an inch, safely landing on the island in the middle of the road. Rico threw a whistle to Skipper who held it up to his mouth but found the woman breezing by him. He held out his arm, stopping the woman, and blew a shrill note, stopping the cars in their tracks.

The woman ducked under Skipper's arm and grabbed the boy from Private's arms, "oh Hammy, don't you ever do that again. Oh my little shǒuhùshén, don't scare me."

"Maam?" Private tapped her shoulder. The woman turned to Private and smiled. The boy blinked, "Do you know a woman named Marlene? You look a lot like her."

The woman's eyes widened before flashing an even bigger smile, short red hair falling out of her ball cap, "I look that young! Thank you!"

The four men looked between each other and raised an eyebrow as Private grinned, "So you know her?"

"Of course I do! She's my oldest child!"

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Shǒuhùshén- Angel (Chinese!)

Hamako is a girl's name but it fit so good that I had to keep it! We'll just say they thought Hammy was a girl. Yes, it's Hammy from Over the Hedge. I wanted Marlene to have a baby brother, so he's staying.

Marlene's an Asian otter, so I figured I might as well make her mother Asian. Mothers look somewhat like their children; therefore, the confusion.


	4. Death's Doorstep

Ange- You shall never expect it. Insert evil grin here.

Forever'nAlways-Actually…that was a mistake; I couldn't find a useful Japanese translator, so I went with Chinese. NO! NO TREQUEL! Holy crud, I don't think I can think of anything for a trequel, if you want to though, take it!

Iota- Yeah, he is…Insert another evil grin here

Mattie Scary- Hammy is awesome!

halfhuman123- Honestly the idea came after watching the episode with the squirrel, I was pretty much freaking out on the couch screaming, "hammy! Yes!" then it turned out to not be Hammy, and it was a sad mourning.

Soothesayer16- Yes! One person converted, now the world! (I used to not read them either, but I'm a fan of Transformers fiction, where the majority of the good stories involve them turning into humans) I love plot twists, it adds spice!

Gewlicious- NO! None of that for Hammy! No to those two but you will see another Hedgie here.

peaches2217- You are smart! You thought outside of the box!

I'm honestly surprised no one said anything about the box burning, which was like, something I've been planning since the fourth chapter of Trustworthy!

Anyway, moving on, It has been brought to my attention (By Halfhuman) that RJ would be cool as the dad. To this I say, I thought about it, but decided against it. RJ is flaky; I wouldn't trust him to be a good father. Although, my choice wasn't much better, but you'll never guess who it's going to be!

I'm sorry I've kept this waiting on the back burner for a while, but I've been rewatching the episodes to make sure the characters are believable all while doing evil math homework. I shall, hopefully, update the next chapter soonish!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Finally free of all of her restraints except for rope tying her hands together, Marlene looked around her prison and curled up in a ball, trying to figure out why it was familiar. She glanced over to the kidnapper and sent him a death glare.

"You'd better let me go or I can and will find a way to kill you."

"I seriously doubt that, Don't worry, those stories that Skipper told you are not all that accurate." He plugged in some electrical conductor, "I've only raped about four of the five, they just like spreading propaganda. I usually kill them fast, that way I can escape fast. Don't worry about yourself; I'll only hurt you if you piss me off or I get bored"

Marlene groaned and glanced back to the wall. It was redwood, common for housing…wait. Marlene's eyes widened as she followed an old crayon scribble to a familiar setting. She backed up into the corner and stared at the man with upmost horror.

"I know this place."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Over the top of his coffee mug, Kowalski covertly glanced between Skipper and Marlene's father. Mr. Roberts was a bear of a man as there are no other fitting adjectives to describe him. He easily stood up at two times Skipper's height and had obviously worked at the gym his entire life, all in all, all two or three hundred something pounds of over-protective fatherliness was directed right at the leader. He proceeded to show Skipper his hunting collection, this including guns, the minute they walked through the door, knowing the team's faces from Marlene's letters. For some reason, Marlene had told her family plenty about New York, but had missed telling them about her family.

"My daughter is missing, and you have only that son of a…"

"Dog," Maylin coughed into her tear-filled napkin, "Honey, language."

"Fine, Aaron is your only lead? That son of a…." Mr. Roberts sent an eye roll to Maylin before continuing, "I would've taken care of the boy myself if it wasn't for Rodger tying him up to the diving board."

Rodger, who had just received the bad news about three minutes ago, lifted his head up at his name but just slumped back into the chair. Kowalski sent a glance back to Skipper. The leader, his back to the table, was looking through the picture frames set on the mantle, most of them consisting of Marlene.

Kowalski had already looked through the pictures so he knew that most of the pictures contained Marlene from the ages of newborn to 10 years old. He couldn't even imagine the pain running through his leader's head from staring at a little laughing girl that appeared in every picture.

"Skipper, are you all right?" Private called out from the table, making every head turn to the leader. Maylin stood up from her chair and went to stand beside him. She took the picture from his hands and patted his shoulder, "This one's my favorite. When Marlene was little, she loved to go to the hunting cottage with her father. She couldn't kill a thing but she always enjoyed the playtime the woods brought. After years and Bambi, Marlene couldn't bring herself to enjoy the hunting seasons as she used to. Too much blood, she told me once."

"So you taught her how to handle a gun?" Skipper asked, still staring up at the mantle. Rico and Kowalski glanced to each other, the same thought in their brains. _'That's how she knew how to shoot it.'_

"That would be correct," Mr. Roberts' gruff voice cut through the soft silence, "now are you going to tell me how to find my daughter or am I going to have to beat down every one of you for answers?"

"Sir, I am asking you to refrain from the threats. We need to know who Aaron is so we can follow up on our lead," Skipper turned around, a glare set deep in his eyes, "We need your cooperation to find her. Don't think you're the only one upset."

Mr. Roberts stood up, making Kowalski wonder how high Archai would've reached to him. The man had an equally matched glare and his hand curled into a fist. Skipper stared straight on back and Marlene's father broke out into a huge grin.

"I'll tell you and you kick his butt for me…The auto repair shop he works in opens in the morning and before you go to kill him, you should know this. He was my daughter's ex-boyfriend." Kowalski watched in horror as he cracked his knuckles with a manic smile on his face, making a mental note to never get on the bad side of Vincent Roberts.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marlene watched as the daylight fell from the window, making sure the door to the room hadn't opened in the slightest. Somehow, it had and the devil himself stood in the room, watching her move back against the far wall.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"The kidnapping from a convicted serial rapist begs to differ." Marlene hissed, attempting to wretch her hands free from the rope. She glanced around the room, from the moose and bear heads on the wall to the desk where the man stood by, finding no weapon in sight.

"You know, you really should start being a little nicer, remember, I hold your life in my hands." He came to her side and grabbed her chin, turning it to face him, "You know, if you weren't Skipper's girl and my hostage, I would ask you out."

"I would say no." Marlene spit onto his cheek, "You couldn't make me say yes."

"That's why I said if." He lifted his hand from her chin and slapped her, leaving a large red impression on her face, "Now stay quiet and maybe I won't rape you…maybe."

Marlene breathed hard, making sure her hair draped over her face to hide the tears streaming from her eyes, as he left the room.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Morning came much too late as the team had already arrived at the shop before the sunrise. A fresh, new warrant was stuffed down in Skipper's pocket as he bust down the door, not even bothering to knock and entered the shop with his gun already cocked. Wherever this bastard was, he was going to die if he even thought to be stupid. He set his chin and motioned for the team to move in. Kowalski followed first, only fazed a bit by Skipper's pissed off attitude. Rico and Private followed, Private terrified of his father's readiness to kill the first person to move within the shop while Rico remained indifferent. Kowalski rounded the corner to the shop and noticed, right off the bat, a small door hidden behind a shelf of mechanical equipment. Radiators and other car parts were strewn across the floor, as if there had been a hurry. He pushed the shelving out of the way and turned the handle, revealing the room behind it. Kowalski froze in complete horror as he stared at the objects in the room, every one of them having something to do with the same woman. Blood, or most likely the artificial blood found at the dressing room crime scene, wrote the walls with I love you. Kowalski picked up a photo frame of Marlene and felt the need to throw up,

"Skipper, I found something!" He called out and within seconds, the leader was beside him, staring in complete horror at the objects.

"Kowalski?"

"Yes, sir?"

"This is enough for a stalking charge and restraining order, right?" Kowalski returned the question with a brief nod before Rico let out a cry of alarm. The team rushed to the main shop where Rico currently had a young man in a hammerlock.

"Let go of him." Skipper hissed, glaring as the man straightened himself up. He wasn't very tall or strongly built. If anything, he reminded Skipper of a shrimp, a little good for nothing shrimp.

"What the hell, man? I come into my shop and I'm attacked. Get out of here before I call the cops!"

Skipper smirked and held up a badge, "Pretty sure we won't be arrested. You might be, though, with a shrine to a kidnapping victim."

Aaron glanced around to the team, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Honestly, I'm not a creepy stalker kind of guy, you can ask anybody!" Skipper furrowed his eyebrows and gave another glance to the man. His eyes were strained with fear and confusion, there wasn't an emotion flashing before his rival's eyes that showed he knew what they were talking about. Skipper rubbed his temple and raised a hand, a signal to Rico to put the handcuffs away.

"We found a shrine in your back room to Marlene Roberts." Skipper lifted his hand in time to see a wave of shock freeze the man; he obviously had no idea about it. "Has anything odd happened lately?"

"N….no, but…I…I…don…don't have a sh…shrine built anywhere." Aaron wrung his hands together, trying to stop himself from stuttering. He failed, making Rico slap the man on the back, "Th...The only thing that went on here is me fixing people's cars."

Skipper groaned, "Well do you have any idea about who might have redecorated your back room, that is, if it wasn't put there by you?"

"HECK NO!" Aaron's eyes grew wide in horror, "I stopped dating Marlene about a year and a half ago! I wouldn't know anybody that would bother dragging that bag of bones out again!" He looked around and stormed to the back room. There was a pause for a moment as the man stiffened and looked back at them with disbelief and horror etched all over his face. The team sent glances to each other, belief that he was innocent set into their brains. Rico produced a scanner, rubber glove, and everything else needed to investigate a crime scene.

"Well, let's get to work on finding that clue." Skipper glanced around the shop nervously, "Let's just hope we find her in time." The team went to work while Skipper turned to Aaron, "I'm going to search your truck."

"I think you'd better leave that to me. I have some expensive equipment in there and I don't want you to go near it." Aaron brushed past him in time to have Skipper grab him roughly by the shoulder and slam him into the truck.

"I'm going to search your truck, no smart remarks about it, capish?"

Aaron blinked and shrugged, "Sure dude, mind not putting a dent in my truck?" Skipper glared, let go of his shoulder, and steamed off to search the truck.

"Don't make Skipper angry at a time like this; he could probably think of a million ways to throw you in jail, especially with your background to Marlene." Kowalski passed by with an armload of plastic-bagged evidence. Aaron blinked and followed the tall detective to the car.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You dated Marlene, didn't you?" Kowalski produced a clipboard, making Aaron whip his head around looking to see where the heck it came from, "You're previous interrogation says the positive."

"Yeah, yeah, but why does big, bad, boss man care?" Aaron tilted his head to motion to Skipper throwing metal objects out of the truck, making sure they made a loud clang on the concrete.

Kowalski looked back and winced, "Well, he's not usually like that, but every since Marlene got kidnapped, he's been looking for something to fight. Unfortun…"

"Wait, wait, before you continue…He's gotten that involved with this case? Holy crud, please tell me that he's not dating Marlene?" Kowalski raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something when Aaron broke out into a fit of laughter, "That is rich! Marlene always goes for the mean ones! Oh, I give this about a month."

Kowalski crossed his arms, "They've been together for a year." He smirked, challenging Aaron to top that. He reeled back when Aaron returned the smirk coupled with a devious glint in his eyes.

He laughed, possibly a little too loud, to where the detective in the truck froze, "Marlene's way too naïve, she always goes for guys with a personality disorder."

"You dated Marlene."

"I took therapy." Aaron grinned as Skipper stepped out of the truck and glared at him, "I say your leader hasn't, at least I got help for being over-possessive."

With the last remark, Skipper let out a growl and started marching over to the blonde-haired moron. "I think you just signed your death warrant." Kowalski backed away and busied himself with loading the evidence into the car.

"What did you say about me?" The leader hissed, lifting a fist up.

"I said nothing about you; I said Marlene has bad taste in men." Aaron glanced to the door of the shop and grinned back at Skipper, "Anyway, you can't hurt me, and you can't even catch me."

"I'd like to see you try to get away." Skipper's fist closed the distance between it and Aaron's face when he completely disappeared. Skipper stumbled forward for about a step before righting himself.

"Geez, can't even land a punch from a foot away, what'd Marley see in you?" Aaron tapped his shoulder and pedaled backwards as Skipper lunged for him. Skipper would've missed the punch if it weren't for Private holding out a metal bar two inches off the ground behind Aaron. The idiot's ankle hit the metal bar, sending him flailing for anything that might steady his fall. The only thing nearby was Skipper's fist who instantly collided with the man's nose. Aaron fell, unconscious.

"He isn't, you know, dead, right?" Private looked up to his father who just cracked his knuckles.

"No, but he will be if he makes another smart remark." Rico then appeared, yelling about something. They had no idea what it was until Rico held up a letter. According to the date, it was sent the day before, from Marlene's address.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

My reason for having Vincent- In the movie, I know he's a bad guy…sort of. I mean, wouldn't you be angry if someone stole the food you were living off? However, in the Over the Hedge game, Vincent is a good guy, going as far to help RJ (yes, his mortal enemy) defeat the Verminator. Plus, whom would you rather have for an over-protective father? A bear that will get pissed if someone comes close to you or a raccoon that makes you eat garbage and then runs away? I chose the bear, garbage makes me sick.

Aaron I wanted to make him okay, but still a jerk. Marlene had to have a reason for liking the guy, right? I think he came out a little too jerkish or kind, I'm not sure.

Kowalski and his randomly appearing clipboards, I love him.

I WILL UPDATE SOON! THIS I SWEAR!


	5. Acknowledge

**Mattie Scary**- He's the evil ex, he's supposed to be! Thank you for reviewing!!!

**Forever'nAlways** –It is quite possible I would not let that happen…that and I have a very innocent brain coupled with a very evil brain…I don't need those angels and devils... I do the right thing with a very weird twist on it all the time. Skipper punching someone is always awesome. My update is more soonish than usual! YES!

**ponytail30527**- Kowalski without the randomly appearing clipboards! I REFUSE TO ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN!!!

**Iota**- Thank you, this chapter is shorter, but I think it'll be better.

**peaches2217**- I take no offense…but just in case. Pushes Aaron in front of me, You can have him! Just don't kill him too much, I might need him later.

**halfhuman123**- The shrine is mysterious, who knows how it got there…Maybe Dr. Blowhole knows? Aaron has no importance; he's just there to give the next clue.

The last chapter I am not proud of, I pretty much just wrote it quickly so I could give you a chapter without thinking and for that, I am sorry.

This chapter is fillerish but I believe it has some important elements that flesh the characters out a bit more, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

TO THE STORY!!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

_To Whom It May Concern (Namely Skipper),_

_Marlene is under my custody, as you probably already know. I may or may not hurt her; it just depends on how I feel and how drunk I am at the moment._

_I've done my research on this little flower, and I've found out plenty of her life. In fact, I've found my hiding place just from learning about Marlene's past. I don't believe you'll ever figure it out where I am without help, so I've enclosed a photo of the area, just for your benefit._

_She has five days to live after I've kidnapped her, you better hurry._

_Sincerely,_

_The person you hate most_

Skipper growled as he scanned the letter for the third time before falling backwards into the recliner in the Robert's living room. Marlene only had two more days left now, today was the third. The photo had proven to be useless. The only thing in the photo was a tree and a wooden post with a stuffed raccoon curled at the bottom. Maylin identified the stuffed animal as RJ, a toy from when Marlene was seven years old, but was not able to tell the location. This just made Skipper madder to an extent that he had to leave the room and yell into the nearest pillow. The team along with the Roberts left to go get something to eat, leaving Skipper to sulk by himself.

At least, to think he was alone.

"Boy, you should really know you look stupid." Vincent came in holding some newspaper and a knife, the latter causing Skipper to glare at the large man. "Don't worry, this ain't for you. You have to go get your own for this...You hear me boy, go get one!" Skipper groaned and walked to the kitchen.

When he got back, he found the newspaper spread over the carpet and Vincent working on a branch. The large man looked up to Skipper and tilted his head to the floor, "May told me to find a way to get you to stop plotting Aaron's death. Figured whittling would work, it's good, useful work.

"Isn't whittling for country people?" Skipper groaned, sitting down on recliner anyway and grabbing a stick.

"Heck no, city people just find themselves being occupied by things that aren't useful, like the Internet or TV."

"This coming from the man with a flat screen TV," Skipper smirked then returned to focus on trying not to break the branch in two. Vincent growled and lifted the branch he was working on, revealing an intricately carved deer. Skipper raised an eyebrow and waved the canoe he was working on, causing Vincent to laugh.

"Easiest thing to make boy, all you do is dig out all the wood. Try making a carving and for heaven's sake, go away from you. Otherwise, I will laugh when you slip and it cuts into your stomach, got it?"

Skipper dropped the stick and grabbed another branch, making sure the knife faced the ground, "uh huh, yeah. I can think of other things to do with this knife. Why am I doing this again?"

"Shut up, boy. You sound like a whiny seven year old." Vincent looked up straight into Skipper's glaring eyes, "Now, the reason you're doing this is to relax until we can figure out what's going on. I'm worried, your team's worried, Maylin's worried, heck even Hammy's worried and he's only five. Anyway, we're only doing this until they get back. After that, you can return to your sulking, paranoid state." Vincent looked back down to his carving, "You're doing pretty good, just try not to break the branch. It gets frustrating after trying to make the same thing on three branches."

They sat there in silence the rest of the time. It surprised Skipper how quick time flew when about an hour later the door opened with the team chattering about something and he hadn't even gotten anywhere close to the product he had in mind. Vincent stood up and took the bags from his wife, disappearing into the kitchen. She walked over and patted Skipper's shoulder, looking hard at the carving he had been working on. She smiled a weak smiled and hustled Hammy to his room.

Skipper looked down at the beginning carving of an otter and put his face in his hands, "This is not going good."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marlene struggled to her feet and glanced out the two-inch thick glass. As she thought, there was nothing but a thick overgrowth looming, causing a night-like darkness to fall when it was, in fact, the middle of the day. She glanced to the ground below the windowpane wondering if the drop of two-stories would be painful.

"You know, there's no way you can break it." Her kidnapper scoffed, watching her from the doorway. She barely acknowledged he was there, causing him to wonder. "You okay? I can't have a mentally-challenged victim, can I? I didn't go through all the trouble of setting up Aaron with that shrine or paying off Rhonda just for you to go and get brain-sick on me."

She let out a slight grunt, barely audible to the man across the room. He groaned and left the room. Marlene looked back at the door, a blank expression on her face before turning back to the window, watching a rabbit hop from its hole with a fox watching closely.

She didn't turn her head when the fox leapt from the bushes, a loud squeak erupting from the rabbit as its last sound before darting out of the reach of the fox's claws and into the brush, chased closely by a flash of red. Marlene gasped and fell to her knees, a sharp pain in her throat attacking her nervous system before throwing up everything she ate from the moment to two days before. She groaned and fell down on her side, curled up far away from the regurgitated mass. She hadn't been feeling well for the past few hours, causing her to worry about what was in the food. She cut off a groan as the door opened and a bag dropped in front of her.

"Eat," was the only thing he commanded but it seemed to be the last thing she believed she could do, heck she believed she couldn't even sit up. The door opened and closed again when she attempted to push herself off the floor to look in the bag. The smell of the food was enough to make her sick, so she rushed to the corner of the room and stayed there, just staring down the brown paper sack.

"I'm so pathetic." She moaned, attempting to keep down the bile rising in her mouth, "I can't even figure a way out of a place I grew up in." She got to her feet and glanced out the window. The rabbit had returned but it collapsed about a foot away from the safety of its burrow from a bleeding leg. Marlene rapped on the window but the rabbit barely responded, even when the fox reappeared. Marlene turned her head away, refusing to see what happened next.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Jazz finished responding to Rico's text and glanced up to Doris. She was pacing a hole in the floor, causing the people below her to complain. Jazz grabbed her arm and pulled her down on the couch beside her. With a quick flick of a pen, she wrote on the pad of paper "What's wrong?" already knowing the answer.

"Marlene's missing, I can't go, I'm worried about Kowalski and I'm afraid that Gloria's going to have a miscarriage from all this stress!" Doris cried out, laying her head on the other blonde, "This is all so horrible, I knew I shouldn't have let her go out alone! I knew it!"

Jazz patted her back and flicked, "It'll be okay," onto the page. Doris sobbed and nodded. It was quiet in the apartment, or at least until Doris's phone rang.

She jumped to her feet, put the phone to her ear and started pacing again, "Kowalski? How's everything? Okay, that's good. Do you have any leads? Uh huh, uh huh, that's not so good. Skipper's okay, right? I know this must be hard on him…I DON'T HATE HIM! No! I just hated the way he treated Marlene…Oh god, please tell me she'll be okay. Please. Kowalski, don't just say what I want to hear, please mean it."

Jazz looked at her phone and wiped her eyes as Rico's reply came back on, cursing her weakness. "I'm fine, I'm just worried" She texted back and returned to watch Doris pace, the worry settling in like a thick fog, barely allowing the two to breathe.

Doris gulped and said into the phone a sentiment the two girls shared, "I just have a feeling that something bad is going to happen."

=-=-=-=-=--==-=-=-=-=-=-=

Yes, I know this was my shortest chapter yet on this story, but I used up so much plot on the last one (Aaron was originally supposed to be in this chapter)

Though I rather liked writing about the rabbit and the fox, it was somewhat like foreshadowing, now wasn't it?

Plus, I need to be more descriptive

If you have any problem with any of my chapters, PLEASE TELL ME! I had this one reviewer, dancer3, and she helped me a heck of a lot with telling me stuff I could've fixed in Trustworthy! Please leave constructive reviews, por favor!

However, if you want to say just Update soon, good story, go ahead. : )


	6. Nothing We Can Do

Forever'nAlways- this chapter will be just as short, but I'm packing a lot of building up suspense to it as the next chapter is going to be the climax. When there is no seeable way out, it makes all the other opportunities just that much noticeable! This chapter is going to be more graphic as I have a dead animal, and drunkenness. That's pretty much it though.

Butter-Mutt- Twighlight's Desire! YAY!...but why'd you choose that name? Not that it is bad; it is just not as awesome as your last name. It is still awesome though! Ahh, Stella is my favorite one! Unfortunately, I do not think I can fit her in here. : ( Yep and the baby should be seen at the last chapter! : )

Candysweets- Hey, we are all busy! Do not fret about it! I want Dr. Blowhole to be creepy, although, in this chapter, all his creepiness will be thrown out the window. I love writing this story, but I cannot lie, I will be thankful when this is over with. I am running out of ideas on what to do! Batman rocks!

Iota- I'm trying to keep loose ends from showing up, mainly because I do not want to have to write a triquel to this. I am running out of steam quickly!

Jazz- Salutes, Will do, Captain!

Mattie Scary-Ahh, that may be one part of the foreshadowing, remember you never saw the rabbit die.

Ponytail30527- bad people are always my favorite because they are so much fun to hate!

Halfhuman123- Ahh that would have been good. Thank you! ^-^ Now, get to work with the songfic!

We are nearing the end of this story and the plot thickens. What will happen in today's chapter of Candance?

Let us find out.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Vincent picked up the photo, for what had to be the ten-hundredth time. He knew the place looked familiar, but nothing in his mind could place it. Something about the post was bugging him in the back of his mind. He growled and threw the photo back on the table, collapsing into the chair. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember anything about the place. It only took him back to one memory though.

_"Daddy! Daddy!" A little brown haired girl giggled, cuddling her raccoon doll closer, "Come here, daddy! You have to see this! It's a baby kitty-cat!" Marlene wrapped her small hand into his large one and led him out the door. _

Vincent opened his eyes to see Hammy staring at him, his little brown eyes huge over the duct tape Private had recently put on again this morning. He patted the chair and the little one came and curled up to him. The father sighed and leaned his head back, trying to remember what happened next.

_"It's a kitty! It's a baby kitty!" Marlene skipped, swinging the raccoon doll by its tail, "We're going to get a kitty! Right, Daddy?" She grinned up to him, "Baby kitty-cats are so cute! I love them so much!" She turned the corner behind a house he recognized but could not place. "NO!"_

_Vincent jumped and took off running to get to his daughter. He barely turned the corner when he saw the reason Marlene was crying. He chased the curious hunting dog away from the baby fox and knelt down beside the sobbing child. The little baby fox was still alive, but very weak. The dog hadn't hurt the thing more than time away from its mother had. Marlene didn't know this as she was currently ranting about how much she was going to hurt that dog for hurting her "kitty"._

_Vincent noted the growing softness of the squeaks and pulled on the back of Marlene's coat. The child jerked out of his hands and reached to the baby fox to pick it up, "Can't we do anything, daddy? Can't we use a band-aid to fix him?" She looked up to him with watery eyes, and burst into sobs when Vincent shook his head._

_"Go get the shovel at the side of the house and hurry back. We'll give it a proper funeral, okay?" Marlene nodded and took off, her hands attempting to wipe away tears. Vincent went inside, easily finding a shoebox and returned outside. He found Marlene curled up at the corner of the house, facing the wall. He walked past her, picked up the stiff body of the baby fox, and set it in the box. Marlene handed him the shovel and burst out into tears at the sight of her father burying her "kitty". She took off for the house as Vincent finished covering the hole beside one of the supporting posts of the overhand of this house. He looked up at the stone floor above him and the shock of realization woke him up, a few years into the future._

Vincent jumped up from the chair, his eyes wide. The sleeping house jumped awake at his yell, "I KNOW WHERE SHE IS!"

Everyone rushed downstairs to where Vincent was throwing on a jacket, a phone to his ear.

"Bring a police squad down there. Call in the SWAT team. I don't care which one you call, just do it!" Vincent hung up the phone and turned to Skipper, "Get dressed, now. You'd better come, that way I'll have justification for killing this bastard."

"Where is…?" Maylin started but Vincent cut her off.

"Old hunting lodge, the one we had before we moved here."

"But that's a day's drive away!"

"Well…." Private interrupted, making everyone turn to him, "Not if Skipper drives."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Dr. Blowhole didn't get drunk much, Marlene could figure that out. She had nearly forgotten about the liquor cabinet her father had kept when he would come up here and was only reminded when her kidnapper spun in doing the tango and left after a second of pretending he was on a tightrope. He kept coming into the room and hitting on her, or dancing to his version of Carmelldansen. He hadn't really tried anything on her, yet.

"You know, you're really pretty, you want some oranges? I'll go get some oranges!" Marlene blinked as he ran out of the room. Most men, once drunk, get scarier. This guy turned into a clown once drunk. She half expected him to jump out the window to see if he could fly and the other half expected him to walk in sober and point a gun to her head.

Dr. Blowhole literally waltzed in and set down a plate of grapefruits. He lifted out a pocketknife and started cutting the fruit erratically with intermissions of solos from Hairspray. Marlene kept her distance on behalf of the pocketknife but still did not expect what was to come. Dr. Blowhole handed her the plate of squashed grapefruit and tilted his head as she moved further away. He glanced down to the knife held backwards in his hand, causing a crimson colored stain on his skin. He blinked and turned the knife around, faced Marlene, and bore the creepiest smile that even would have scared Freddy Kruger.

It was only the fourth day, but Marlene started to believe she might never see the fifth.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The highway flew by in a blur as the car reached speeds that most racecars could not dream of reaching. The team held on for dear life as the car swerved around the traffic, surprised that Vincent didn't even blink out of fear. The bigger man sat in the passenger's seat, cussing out his daughter's kidnapper as the miles flew.

"How the heck did he know about that? That was between our family!" Vincent growled, putting his hands in a claw form, pretending the neck of a certain man was between his hands and squeezed them together, "I'll kill this bastard if it's the last thing I do. Then Kowalski there can bring him back and I will kill him again! He will rue the day he ever breathed in this world! I will kill him!"

Skipper glared at the road, the same exact thoughts running through his head. His hands were white from gripping the steering wheel, fear causing scenarios to run through his mind. None of them were good. He attempted to breath, but fear was all he could take in. The speed of the car provided little distraction from his thoughts and he knew that he was going to crash if he didn't start paying attention. He snapped out of his thoughts and watched the road, barely missing a semi by a couple of inches. The team in the backseat looked to each other, each thinking the same though but not voicing them aloud.

Hope and luck were the only things that could save Marlene right now.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Marlene wished that the good drunk were back as the man advanced with the knife pointing outwards toward her. She backed as far as she could against the wall, attempting to free her hands from the rope. He advanced closer but froze within two inches from her.

His hand flew to his mouth, the knife landing on the floor with a clatter. He turned a sickly shade of green and flew off in the direction of the bathroom. Marlene let out a sigh of relief that some men can't hold their liquor and sank to the floor. The sunlight from the window filtered in and glinted off the silver blade of the knife as a light bulb went on in Marlene's head. She scooted over until the hilt of the knife was under her palm and went to work to try to cut the bonds on her hands. Blood pounded in her head as she worked quickly, every glance went toward the door as one part of the rope was sliced and then another. The last thread cut through quickly after that and Marlene was able to separate her arms. She breathed for what felt like the first time since she got here and opened the door. The wooden walls of a childhood home seemed cold and barren now as fear and anxiety set in. She kept her front facing the bathroom where the consequence of her father's stash of hard liquor was affecting her kidnapper. Once she felt the cool metal of a locked safe, she felt fear melt away into anger and smugness. Dr. Blowhole may have known everything about her, but there was one thing he didn't know that she did. That was the combination to her father's shotgun safe.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

That is why, my friends, you should never drink. It is bad for mental health but great fun for other people to make fun of you.

Before you say "Vincent would never keep a stash of liquor!" I want you to actually think about Vincent's character. Vincent strikes me as the type of person that would have a cabinet of Jack Daniels and other liquor stuff in a hunting lodge.

I know the memory of the baby fox may confuse people "The fox in the foreshadowing was insinuated on killing the rabbit so is the memory a foreshadowment that the fox is something different? Is Marlene the fox? What the heck's with the fox?" No. The memory did not start out in my brain containing a fox. It just turned out that way. It may foreshadow something but I will not tell you.

Again, remember that you never actually saw the rabbit die. Rabbits are mean creatures as well, so keep that in mind.

Review, por favor! Tell me what I did wrong or what I did right or what I did mediocre. I look forward to hearing from you!


	7. Corruption and Engagement

Ahh! I'm so insanely sorry about not updating for so long! But I swear I have a good reason! That reason is called Nanowrimo. If you know what it is, you are going 0_0. If not; look it up then you will be going 0_0. I'm going 0_0 on the fact that I actually finished before the thirtieth of November. ^-^ Again, I am so insanely sorry that I haven't updated in forever!!!!

You know, now that I think about it, I really don't have a reason for not updating between December and February besides the lovely car wreck my life has become. I thank the man upstairs for actually keeping me sane these last few months, between a friend drifting away and another friend moving I haven't had any time to actually write.

Yeah….You're not here to hear me cry about my pathetic life so… TO THE STORY!!! ^-^

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Marlene searched the gun safe for bullets, only succeeding in finding one. She frowned as she loaded the gun and cocked it back into place, feeling the cold metal feel familiar under her hands. She knew she had one shot and that she didn't remember how to aim very well. She cursed under a whisper; this was going to have to be at point-blank range. She lifted the gun to her shoulder, cradling the butt of the gun in the spot between her chest and shoulder and lifted the scope to eye-level.

Inside the bathroom, the kidnapper lifted his head from the toilet to the unmistakable sound of a gun click. He turned to the door where his prey stood, the barrel of a shotgun pointed straight at his face.

"Get up." Her kidnapper rose unsteadily to his feet as he glared down the barrel of the shotgun.

"What you goin to doooooo, killll meeee" The man said, a drunkard's drawl messing up his speech pattern.

Marlene smirked, "No, not here. Killing you here would mean I'd have to clean it up. No, I'm going to kill you outside, where nature will take care of you. Did I ever mention that it's bear country out here?"

* * *

It was supposedly a daylong trip; it took Skipper three hours. Trees surrounded the car, causing the shadows to overlap the car, darkening the inside of the car as the team loaded their guns.

"Take a left and the first road you see is the driveway to the hunting lodge." Vincent growled, his hands gripping the side handlebar, "I'll kill this bastard."

"Not if I get to him first." Skipper muttered, turning into the driveway and analyzed the house. According to Vincent, the three-story lodge only had two doors that exited but windows galore. It stood up two tall stories high with an overhang held up by wooden pillars, one of which was extremely familiar. It was a deep brown color and blended in easily with the thick trees that surrounded it, easily missed by the passing road, which was perfect for a killer's hideout.

They took out their guns and surrounded the house, the police weren't here yet but they didn't have time to waste waiting. Vincent unlocked the door and pointed his shotgun around the empty living room. Kowalski came next and nearly had a heart attack when he came face to face with a wall hanging of a decapitated bear head. He breathed out and took a step back before entering another room. It was a room built for a child as little stuffed animals littered the corner of the room and the desk. Kowalski froze as he noticed some recent vomit in the corner and a stench coming from the bathroom. Rico had entered the bathroom and quickly left, making a hacking sound.

They searched the entire house and came to only one conclusion: Marlene was not here. "She was held captive in her old room. That room and the bathroom smell of vomit. Vincent's gun safe has been broken into…where could she be?"

Vincent paced the floor, "I know he would never know that combination. Marlene and I were the only ones that hunted here so she would know it."

"So she got free, but where would she go?" Skipper paced the floor in the opposite direction, "Kowalski, check for footprints around the lodge." The tall one nodded and hurried out the door, past Private who was staring down the bear head.

"Sir, did you shoot this yourself?" His voice trembled as he looked back at Vincent who scoffed.

"Boy, you think that would be on my wall if I didn't shoot it myself? This is bear country out here."

Two seconds after those words spilled out of Vincent's mouth the sound of a shotgun pierced the silence of the woods.

* * *

Marlene analyzed her situation. The shotgun had proven ineffective, as her badly aimed shot had gone off at least three miles of her actual target, her kidnapper was still alive, and they had their backs up against a tree by a large, black bear. Things were not good. The bear was predatory, meaning playing dead or going up a tree was not going to be an option.

Dr. Blowhole, however, was not aware of this and started up a tree leaving Marlene alone on the ground. She took a deep breath and did the only thing she could think of, scream.

The bear roared back but backed up from fear of a louder creature than itself. It sniffed the air and ignored Marlene, heading straight to the tree another certain person was hiding in. Marlene breathed out and scrambled away, attempting to ignore the unmistakable sound of a tree falling and a person screaming. The woods seemed to grow darker and denser as she tore through, putting more distance between her and that bear.

It's a proven fact that when lost you will travel in circles, Marlene traveled in five circles before stopping to catch her breath and regroup.

"I'm lost in the woods, in bear country, and alone. How bad could this really be?" She sighed, sinking down the trunk of a tree, "What do I do?" She put her head in her hands and sobbed, not hearing the rustling of the leaves nearby.

* * *

"It came from near here." Kowalski deduced moving tree branches out of the way. The sun was high up in the sky now, leaving the woods strangely bright, even with the thick brush around them.

"Where's near here?" Skipper asked, looking around, "Come on, Kowalski, give me results!"

"Well, I would say near the bear that is currently attacking our known kidnapper who is most likely dead." Kowalski pointed to the bear, "Wait….what? Okay! Play dead!" Kowalski fell onto the ground into the fetal position. Before anybody could follow his example, Vincent pulled the boy to his feet.

"Does it look like that bear is about to kill us? Honestly, for the smart one in the group, you're pretty stupid. You only play dead when the bear is charging and is defensive. You yell and scream at bears when they're predatory to make it think you're a threat and scare it off. Though I don't know why you would want to, it looks pretty content eating the guy." Vincent grinned at the bear and gave it a thumb up, "Keep up the good work." The bear, luckily, didn't notice them and kept on eating.

* * *

Something nibbling on her ear woke her up and Marlene slowly opened her eyes to see a rabbit looking down at her. The moment she moved, it took off in a hop/ sprint away from her. Marlene wiped her eyes and looked at the woods around her, a little blurry from her tears but still clear. Marlene blinked and rubbed her eyes as she recognized her surroundings, getting up to her feet in a flash. "It should be around here." She walked around the tree, her eyes glancing every which way before resting her eyes on an oddly deformed tree with planks nailed to the side of the tree. She grabbed one of the planks and started climbing. Her eyes widened when she heard rustling and looked down at the same little rabbit, come back for a piece of lettuce it had dropped. It was looking straight up to her with blank black eyes. Marlene and the rabbit stared at each other for a moment before the rabbit bounded off into the brush.

Marlene blinked, "okay, that was weird." She turned and continued climbing the tree until she got to a wooden ceiling. She pressed on it and a hatch popped open allowing her into her old tree house. Marlene pulled herself onto the floor and looked around. She raised an eyebrow and pulled herself up, getting a good look at the table where a few squishy balloons sat, filled up to the brim with water. She grabbed one and it broke with the slightest touch, soaking her and the table. She shook her arm free of the water and looked around the tree house and saw the old seat her father used when he used the tree house as a deer stand when he didn't want to risk the bears. She grinned as she ran her hand over the seat before collapsing into it, her legs unable to lift her anymore. Well, that was until she heard someone trampling below.

* * *

"The tracks lead this way," Kowalski scratched his chin, "Then they also lead that way. She must have gone in a circle of some sort. Then it looks like she left this tree and walked that way for some reason. Then the tracks aren't so visible with the fallen leaves all around. Why do you think she went that way?" team looked at Vincent who shrugged.

"I haven't been here in a few years. I really don't remember the layout of this forest."

"Well that's just great!" Skipper threw his hands in the air, "Now we have no idea where Marlene went and we're lost! This is just great!" He shook his head and all of a sudden, his head was soaked with a water balloon. The team looked up and saw Marlene leaning out a window, a huge grin on her face.

"Now what was that about not knowing where I am?"

* * *

Marlene stole Skipper's coat on the way back home, freezing from the setting sun. She was surprised that her boyfriend and dad were actually getting along well and even more amazing was the fact that Skipper was driving the speed limit all while having a hand on hers. Marlene blushed when she thought of the more than warm welcome as the team greeted her along with a very long kiss from Skipper, much to the chagrin of her father.

Marlene slipped her hand from Skipper's and slid them into the pockets of the very warm coat and felt a small, soft feeling box in the pocket. She slipped it out and studied the velvet box for a while until she noticed Skipper stiffen in the seat next to her.

"Skipper, is this what I think it is?" The leader of the team glanced to her and back to the road with not a word muttered. "Skipper, answer me."

"Allright, allright. Yes. But pretend you never saw it. Private will never stop with the crying when he realizes that he slept right through it." Skipper jerked his head to the backseat, where surely enough, the teenager was asleep on the window.

"Well, how about I answer now, and act surprised later." Marlene leaned over and kissed a blushing Skipper on the cheek. "I do."

* * *

I'm so psyched for the special coming out! Of course though, I'm a little awed by the fact there's mutated crabs under Blowhole's command. Hmmmm, I wonder who wrote with that? *looks pointedly over to Halfhuman* they're stealing your ideas!

Anyway, I'm not all that sure if I should write another chapter to this since that was a good ending. So I'm leaving you at Candanc…without an E…the E was supposed to stand for Engagement but as you can tell, the engagement part wasn't very long.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!! (and I'm so insanely sorry for the wait and horrible chapter update!)


End file.
